Snubber for vehicles



Jan. 26,1926. y11,571,156;

` A. H. GIBSON SNUBBER FOR VEHICLES Filed July 13, 1923 Patented Jan, 26, 1925.

UNITE Y 1,511,156 PATENT OFFICE.

ANGUS H. GIBSON, 0F SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, ASSIGNOR T0 GIBSON PRODUCTS C0., OF SALT LAKE CTY, UTAH, A CORPORATION OF UTAH.

SNUBBER FOR VEHICLES.

Application filed July 13, 1923.

To all 'LU/0m it may concern.'

Be it known that 1, ANGUs H. GIBSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Snubbers for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification. r 1

This invention relates to vehicles of the motor car type, and is inten-ded to provide means for checking the rebound of the body after the supporting springs have been compressed by sudden road shocks, and also to make a car ride more leasy when theI rear seat is unoccupied.

The device embodies certain principles ef construction and arrangement by which the tension of the snubber or anti-rebound member is supported to minimize a sudden shock or jolt when it begins to function, while at the same time distributing the strain longitudinally of the car frame or body and utilizing a conveniently placed leaf spring to effect the desired spring resistance to the rebound or lifting of the'carv body. To this end the invention comprises a flexible snubber adapted to be operatively connected with the axle housing of a motor car and intermediately suspended from a movable or swinging support with its other end adjustably anchored toi the car frame. rihe arrangement is suoli that the adjustment can be quickly and conveniently made while being absolutely reliable and positive so that there is no inconvenience in adjusting the tension for service when a car is driven with no load in the rear, a condition which notoriously makes for rebound and discomfort in riding.

in the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred construction and arrangement embodying the principles of this invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating my improved snubber applied to the rear end of a motor car of the usual construction.

Figure 2 is a detail showing in front elevation the suspension member for flexibly supporting the flexible snubber member or strap.

Figure 3 is a detail of the snubber springsupporting bracket attached to a side frame of the car.

In the drawings the frame 1, theI bodysupporting spring 2, the axle housing 3 and Serial No. 651,266.

the shaft 4, are of usual or suitable construction.

Between the line of the axle and the middle portion lengthwise of the car I secure an angle bracket 5, to the side face 4or web of the car frame by means of suitable bolts 6. On the horizontal member 5a of the snubber spring-supporting bracket I secure the leaves 7 forming the shock-resisting or snubber spring by means of anchoring bolts 8, passed through said springs and through the lateral wing 5a of the attaching bracket. A short anchoring bar 9, with its projecting end turned downwardly is also secured to said bracket, preferably below the lowermost leaf of the snubber, and is perforated to receive the anchoring member of the snubber strap.

At the free end of the snubber strap 7, is carried a pivoted shackle 10, around whose lower pin 11, is preferably placed a roller 12 which is free to turn under the movement of the flexible snubber element 18, which is in the form of a heavy strap whose lower end is looped around the axle housing or otherwise 'secured thereto, and whose intermediate portion passes through the pivotal shackle 10 over the roller 12, and is secured to an adjustable attaching member 14 in the form of an eye-bolt which passes through the downwardly turned end of the ancho-rage bar 9, and is adjustably anchored thereto by means of opposed nuts 15 arranged on opposite sides of the bar 9r It will be seen that when the car body moves downward under a sudden shock the flexible snubber strap 13, is relaxed and offers no acceleration to the downward movement. Then the car body and car spring return to normal position, however, the snubbe-r becomes taut and exerts a gradually increasing resistance to the upward movement of the car since, with such liexing movement, each successive leaf of the snubber spring 7 is brought into play. By means of the suspension member or 'shackle engaging the intermediate portion of the strap and forming a pivotal connection with the free end of the snubber spring, the resistance of the snubber spring to the upward movement is applied without' sudden shock but with gradually increasing force since the first tendency of the suspension member 10 is to swing toward the anchorage 9 lor the upper end of' the snubber strap. The stress at the anchorage point is applied longitudinally of the car.` The adjustment of the anchorage nuts 15, is so easily made that when the car is to be driven with the rear portion of the body empty these nuts can be quickly set to put additional snubbing tension on the rear end of the car to take the place of a normal l ad in the rear end. It will be obvious that the device can be very conveniently applied to existing motor cars since the only machine work oi" any kind required on the car itself is merely the drilling of the holes for the attaching bolts (3. The arrangement is such that the inten mediate portion oi' the snubber strap acts on a spring-resistance located directly above the axle although the connection with such spring-resistance is such to avoid transmitting a sudden shock or blow which contributes greatly to the easy riding' of the car.

For descriptive purposes the body-supporting structure, carried by the forward and rear axles, may be regarded as the axle clement of the car, while the bodf.7 frame supported on springs may be regarded as the spring element of the car. The strap-supporting shackle7 whether with or without a roller, obviously serves as a pulley allowing the intermediate portion ot the strap the requisite amount oi travel `when the snubber spring functions through the medium of the pivoted shackle.

That .l claim is:

l. A snubber device Ylior motor cars embracing in its construction a leaf spring se cured to the Car frame, a shackle pivotally supported by the i'iree end of said spring, a flexible snubber element positively Ianchored at its opposite ends to the axle housing and to the body frame respectively and intermediately supported by said shackle to travel relative thereto, substantially as described.

2. A snubber device for a motor car elnbracing a snubber spring` secured to the spring-sup'iorted body :trame with its 'free end above the axle-housing7 a flexible snubber strap anchored against longitudinal movement to the axle housing` at one end and to the body frame at its other end, and a pivotal member -forming a swingable connection between the free end of the snubber spring and the intern'iediate portion of the strap, substantially as described.

3. A snubber device Jfor a motor car embracing a rebound resisting iiexiblc strap positively anchored at both ends to formi connection adjustable as to length between a spring-supported body element and an axle element ci the car, a snubber spring arranged to exert a yielding resistance to the upward move-ment ot the spring-supported element by a pull exerted against both anchorages oi said strap by an intermediate pulley connection with said strap, substantially as described.

al.. ln a snubber device for a motor car the combination or' a bracket secured to the body trame, a snubber spring anchored thereto, a pivotal strap-supporting member mounted 0n the free end ot said springl to act as a pulley7 a snubber stap looped around the axle housing of the carand adjustably anchored to said bracket by -a screw threaded extension, the intermediate portion of the strap being supported by said pulley connection with the snubber spring, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, l have subscribed the above specification. 

